UA tackles job of stopping McFadden

Thursday

Sep 13, 2007 at 12:01 AM

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.

By Tommy DeasSports Writer

TUSCALOOSA | Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound.Darren McFadden, star running back for the Arkansas Razorbacks, may not be a comic book superhero, but the University of Alabama’s defense has been preparing this week as if it will be facing a rusher with superhuman abilities in Saturday’s game at Bryant-Denny Stadium.Part of the Crimson Tide’s mission in getting ready for Arkansas is finding a way to contain the Razorbacks’ 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior from Little Rock, Ark., who finished second last season in Heisman Trophy voting.McFadden won last year’s Doak Walker Award as the nation’s top running back, rushing for 1,647 yards and 14 touchdowns, adding 149 yards and another score as a receiver and also completing 7 of 9 passes for 69 yards and three touchdowns while lining up at quarterback.While senior Jonathan Lowe, the only player listed as “athlete” on the Alabama roster, has had the primary duty of mimicking McFadden’s moves on the Tide’s scout team this week, senior defensive lineman Wallace Gilberry had a better idea.“Probably Superman or maybe Spider-Man, somebody like one of those guys,” he said. “There’s nobody who can simulate him on a scout team.“Among other running backs, he’s definitely a man among boys. [Other top backs] don’t compare to him.”So how does Alabama go about stopping, or at least limiting, a player with such explosive running ability and astounding versatility?The first order of business is making sure no one has to tackle that responsibility alone.“It’s very tough because he is a very gifted athlete, one of the best running backs in the nation and tops in this conference,” said UA junior safety Rashad Johnson. “One guy can’t tackle him. We have to gang tackle.”Arkansas’ offense is built around McFadden, although his backfield mate, Felix Jones, is also a top-tier rusher. The Razorbacks will seek to get him into situations where McFadden faces a single tackler so he can use the same stiff-arm technique he utilized to flatten Alabama safety Roman Harper on the way to a 70-yard touchdown run against the Tide at Bryant-Denny Stadium two seasons ago when McFadden was a freshman.“I did get a little taste of his stiff-arm,” Johnson said, “but that’s all in the past.“Coach [Nick] Saban teaches us if you’re in the open field one-on-one to hit high and hold on if you can’t tackle him until help gets there. You try to tackle him down low and you’re going to get the stiff-arm.”Saban, Alabama’s first-year head coach, also has to work with defensive coordinator Kevin Steele and his assistants to come up with a plan to handle McFadden when he lines up at quarterback in Arkansas’ HogWild formation, where he’s a threat to run, pass or pitch the ball to a teammate when the defense keys on him.“Obviously it would be better if he couldn’t pass it and you wouldn’t have to worry about it,” Saban said.Saban said the Razorbacks run the HogWild attack from a spread offensive formation but use many of the same principles of the wishbone offense Alabama won with under legendary late coach Paul W. “Bear” Bryant.“So you’ve got to get enough [defenders] down there and have run support on both sides,” Saban said. “That’s not always easy to do without loading the box. And when you load the box, then that obviously gives them some opportunities to throw the ball.“It makes it much more difficult, and they make big plays doing it.”The Tide defense will have to be aware of where McFadden lines up and adjust accordingly. After that, it’s a matter of making sure everyone executes his responsibility.“You take care of your assignments,” Gilberry said. “If he’s in your assignment, you take care of that.“If you do your job and stick to your assignments and trust what Coach Steele tells you, then you’ll be fine.”Aside from following the game plan, there’s another element Alabama’s defense must bring to the table to have a chance against McFadden. Saban wants his defense to swarm and be physical.“We’ve got to hit him,” senior linebacker Darren Mustin said. “If we don’t hit him early, he’ll run all over us.”

Reach Tommy Deas at tommy.deas@tuscaloosanews.com or at 205-722-0224

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